 Broadway is my beat from Times Square to Columbus Circle, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway is my beat with Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. The campaigns of summer, done now, and on stony terrain of Broadway, litter and debris of strategies and memory. Of summer conquests, summer defeats, and Broadway leans hard against the September nighttime, tries to hold back the departing flow of the summer veterans, and still the street empties, of out-of-town girls going back home now to dip once more in out-of-town moons. In the lad of the sun-bleached hair, knapsack strapped to shoulder who lulls for a while against the cooling stone of a night wall, closes his eyes for an instant, files the memory, then hits the road to other and newer summers. Chin up! Nighttime has not yet run out, and the autumn replacements are moving in. Chin up! This is it. In east of Broadway, 34 stories into the nighttime, and above river, and where autumn gold will touch first. Penthouse apartment, and a smiling man, a man who stares, who lies rigid against deep and swirling greens of an expensive carpet. Paralyzed man, man shot in the spine, kneeling at his side a woman in silk and night-vests held close against her throat. Michael, you hear me? And against the tapestry, face held in light of expensive porcelain lamp, Detective Muggerman. Maybe he hears you, Mrs. Oster, maybe he doesn't. Condition your husband's in, he's got no way of letting you in. Please, please, please. Okay, lady, okay. Michael, it's me. It's Sylvia, baby. Mrs. Oster. Is he alive? Is he dead? Tell me, just tell me, so I'll know what to... So I'll know how to behave. Just take it easy, Mrs. Oster. No, no, no. Don't you touch me. I'm going to be very calm, very well behaved. All I want to know from you is, is my husband dead or alive? Well, let's put it this way, Mrs. Oster. Let's say it's a moot point. Let's say where that bullet lodged in the back of the neck... You stop it, you hear? You don't talk to me like that. You hear? It's my husband! Come over here, Mrs. Oster. Sit down here. He never smiled like that. He's staring. Just staring. If you like, we can go into another room. We can... I'll get it, then. No. In here is all right. All right. Now, try to tell us what happened, Mrs. Oster. It's very late, isn't it? Michael and I were asleep in there. I was restless. Who's that man talking to? Who are you talking to? Yes, I'm talking to you. You, I asked you who you were talking to. He's the elevator boy, Danny. He said he's air-melt Mrs. Oster's envelope. Now, he brought back change. Give it to me. Sure, Mrs. Oster. Thank you. You were saying you and your husband were asleep. And I was restless. And I heard a noise from in here. I woke Michael. I made him get up and see what it was. I waited for him to come back. And I called. Then there was a shot. He must have been coming back to me, and that's what... Oh, Michael, Michael. Come on in, boys. Boys from the lab, Danny, and the other fellas. And they came in, the boys from the lab. The two young fellas in white, and the pictures taken, and the chalk marks made. And the steel tape applied to distance between sleep and violence. And also a degree of probable angle from gun of unknown assailant to a smiling man's spine. Also statement from paralyzed man's wife. Also sedative, offered by young fella in white. Accepted by women in silken nightdress who must sleep. You understand, don't you? I can't keep crying like this. Michael mustn't see how... And who kisses Michael as young fellas carry him away. And who closes the door. And behind it, sleep. And the night time runs out. And at headquarters the next day, there's noon. And there's the ham on white, and the container of milk. And there's the surprise. Offered by Sergeant Geno Tataglia, if... If you'll eat every mouthful, Danny, and drink nice your milk, at the end of it, a surprise. Geno... A fudge brownie in this one. Look at it and smack the lips, Danny. But first you must... Did you get that rundown on Michael Austin I asked for, Geno? Yes, Danny. But on an empty stomach it's... Just give it to me, huh? It's your life, Danny. From Dr. Sinski. Report that condition of Michael Austin unchanged. Paralyzed dine. Also, gun which did same, located in alley below. No prints. German Luger will be practically impossible to trace. Go on. From interrogations made by Detective Muggevin earlier this morning. Michael Austin, a very, very wealthy man. From his father, Mr. Austin Sr., inherited a fortune. From which Michael has lived by certain type inventions. So you mean stocks, bonds, things like that? What I mean, that is what Detective Muggevin meant is, the investments were of the type. Crab games, roulette, the GGs, the fights, the baseball, the football, the blackjack. I think I get the picture, Geno. Goes without saying, Danny. Also, Michael Austin has lost heavily in these type investments according to the word along the streets. No one could put a finger on a number how much. But also, Michael Austin was seen much in the company of Johnny Wesley. Johnny Wesley, the one I know? The one we all know. Geno. I told him to hold the squad until you finished your fudge brownie. However, it's your life, Danny. Outside now, and right a September day, rich with sights and smells of a city turning into autumn. Tweeds and college collars and pungents of frying hot dogs. A small drifting breeze that for a second turns into a wind and then drifts again. Youth and books in the first co-ed met and walked with through the park and swift tumble of leaves. Past playground and tragedy of a scraped knee and nursemaid running to attend it. Past museum and sitters upon the gray stone steps. People who always seem to be reading or waiting or just knowing something secret and gentle. And crossed town and park into a shop remarkable for its serenity of decor. Established by the large display of paper lawn upon which rest rain sprinklers of every description. Not turned on, of course. Only the clerk is to that section of the newspaper which contains race results so that he is somewhat startled to see a customer. He's somewhat nearsighted but then very courteous when he makes out the significance of the police badge. Then goes away and comes back with permission for you to see Mr. Wesley and go right in that way. Hello, Danny. Come on in. Have a seat. How you been? Good. Thanks, Johnny. How about yourself? All back from Vegas. How can a fella be? How'd you do in Vegas, Johnny? I like this, you know. Nice life, huh? Sell enough rain sprinklers to be able to afford the... well, how long were you in Vegas? Well, just a week, Danny. But then you go every week, don't you? Every other. Every other. Johnny, how long has it been since you've sold a rain sprinkler? You want to know. Oh, just so I can tell it downtown, often mugger than wonders. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I sold one the day before yesterday, Danny. A dollar and a half item with a year's warranty. This is our biggest seller. Johnny, you know a man named Michael Austin, don't you? Hey, you want to see something, Danny? All right. Come over here. You know what they are in this tank? Yeah, I know what they are. Goldfish. Goldfish, that's right. Yeah. Austin was shot in the back. Hey, you fishies. Hey, fishies, come on, come on. One day, Danny, sprinklers, goldfish, real lawn, roses, the wicks. You know, I'm going to have... Last night, he was shot in the back, Johnny. What do you want me to do? Draw a fit. We'll get yourself a newspaper. Read what happened to the people every day. You'll shoot him? Go drop dead, huh? Word says he was seen in your... Yeah, seen in my company. Yeah. So? So was once the king of Albania. Look where he is now. I'm a real Jonas, huh? A hexa from the hills. Just tell me about him. Rich boy who bet. He won, he lost. That's the business I'm in, you know? That's why frequently you can't find me in my shop. Because I'm in Vegas or I'm in Reno. You know Austin's wife? Go lead up to where she was seen in my company. Well... I got a friend greets me soon as I step off the plane wherever it is, so who needs Sylvia Austin? What else you want? Ask Mr. Prescott for a free sample sprinkler on the way out, Danny. Tell him I said schmo. That's our password for free sprinklers. Danny? Yeah? Going home? Uh-huh. Wait a second. I want to finish this up here. My wife called. She went bowling. You want to come over? No, thanks. You didn't even wait to hear what I want you to come over for. Well, thank your wife for me. You were listening to what I'm saying. She didn't invite you. I did. And it's... Danny Clover's office. Margaret speaking. Yeah, Doc. Yeah. Well, sure I'll tell him. Look, what's the matter with you? Don't you think I can deliver a message? Yeah, I'll tell him. What's the matter with everybody? Tell him what? That you're not going to accept my invitation after all. Dr. Sinski wants you to get to emergency hospital right away. Mike Lawson? Yeah, he was just brought down from surgery. He should be out of the anesthetic by the time you get there. Good night, Lieutenant. Good night. Get in here, Danny. Mrs. Austin? I can't tell. I can't tell. What? The open eyes. Expression. Around his mouth, the expression. I put my cheekbones to him. Whether he's breathing. Wait, I'll see. Tableau at bedside. Doctor in stethoscope. And patient. Man of severed spine and locked away knowledge. Man of staring eyes and mouth of small smile. So small you must look close to discovered. And his wife. Well? Well? Motionless man. He's dead. Murdered man. Well... Well, at last now I know. And his wife. You are listening to Broadway's My Beat, written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, and starring Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. Most common forms of blindness can be prevented. This month, site-saving month, resolved to do something to achieve better understanding of the preservation of sight, one of man's most precious senses. Send for the free booklet I Have Facts by writing Prevention of Blindness, box 426, Radio City Station, New York 19, New York. Let I Facts spare you and yours unnecessary I-disconference, or worse. Twilight skin's Broadway, and it's the pleasant time. The heat is gone, and the September breeze is a thing composed of puffs of coolness and sudden smiles. And walk the avenue where shadows are rosy before they slip into corners, and darken and melt together to become evening. And overhead, the clouds that fluff an autumn moon to get it into shape for night. It's the time for evening's first beer, kids with ice cream on a stick, strolling time, boy and girl time, the pleasant time. And where I was at headquarters, quality of time at the homicide division is assessed according to how cooperative a murder suspect is, how easy to read the fingerprints are, how identifiable the victim, or how hysterical a murdered man's wife. For instance, Sylvia Austin... They're remarkable the things a human being can go through. I'd like a cigarette. Here. First one I've had since... Well... You feel like you can talk to me about your husband now. I'm going to devote my life to practically just that. Even if I marry again, Michael... Michael Austin... Well, you know what I mean. The fact that he was a gambler... Who was he? Yeah, I think he was. Everything we've been able to find out. What does gambler mean? Come on, come on. Well, what does it mean? Played the horses, bet the fights. Is that the kind of definition you want, Mrs. Austin? Well, what if he did? He lost a lot, didn't he? Won a lot too. Did you find all this out about my husband from me? You didn't, did you? No. Now's your opportunity, Mr. Clover, if you want to find out what really... Well, I'm not going to tell you the size of my bank account, if that's what you're after, but... Oh, I'm sorry, Danny. I didn't know Mrs. Austin... That's all right. Come on in. I got something with me. I want you to meet. Come on in, Mr. Scarpea. Where'd he go to? Hey, Mr. Scarpea, come in here, will you? This guy's in the furniture business, Danny. He's been walking around clucking his tongue at our furniture. I'll go. Dr. Sinski said he wanted to see me before I went home. Said he was worried. That's all right. Sit still. Oh, right in here, Mr. Scarpea. Danny Clover, Mr. Scarpea. Hello, Lieutenant. Nice to know you. And the lady I know, yeah. Hi, Mrs. Austin. I don't think I've met you, have I? I don't remember you wearing glasses, Mrs. Austin, but I get close up so you can remember me. Hey, Joseph Scarpea. From Scarpea Furniture. Mr. Clover. Why? Not because of this man. I'm ill. That's all. What about this man, my good one? Tell him, Mr. Scarpea. Yeah. Joseph Scarpea from Scarpea Furniture. I bought all of Mrs. Austin's furniture. I found a buyer for one, a piano which fits this lady's piano's description, and two, a book buyer who buys books by the pound. And Mrs. Austin here has many fancy sets of books. So, well, look, I'm not what they really call a hoppy or the kind of... Scarpea wanted to take possession from Mrs. Austin a couple days early, Dana. He went to call on Mrs. Austin, officer Brownlee stopped him at the door, told him to see you. Yeah, so here I am. Now, I'm glad you're here too, Mrs. Austin. So, what about the permission? Come around the beginning of the week, Mr. Scarpea. The beginning of the week, Mr. Scarpea. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Find suggestions. You're real broke, aren't you, Mrs. Austin? Down to selling the furniture. That's all. Better to Dr. Sinski, Markovan. And outside, then, and begin tour of September City to prescribed area, coordinates of which have been determined by tastes and needs, small fatigues and small deals of a man you know, man you're looking for, man who, among other things, will give freely of information if the proper symbol is held close to his face. Police badge, for instance. Daddy, knock me over with a feather. What a fame, wandering man, itinerant man, man about town. What a place to meet, huh, Danny? Need to share the information. How are you, Benny? Oh, very well, thank you. And you? Nice hotel, Benny. Well, it has charm, old world. Old charm. What are you doing in it? Danny, a public lobby with a string and symbol. I'm entitled. You're entitled. Who will throw the first stone and say a fellow... What are you doing here, Benny? Uh, I've taken a veil, Danny. I'm legitimate. Oh, I'm glad. Well... Inorganized charity. I accept contributions. For what? For organized charity. The ancient order of Jebs. Huh? Natural, natural. From this fresh coupon book for one buck, any of these people, she was entitled to a chance on a foreign sports car. And their contributions of one small dollar goes into the kitty of the... Who are the Jebs? The do-gooders, kindly folk who feel if a fellow has a generous heart, he's entitled at least to a chance on a foreign sports car. In return for which the Jebs take baskets of fruit, take these canned goods, pickles, sliced bread... Who are the Jebs, Benny? Uh... Chums I know happen to be in a raffle business. You... you stopped me off by a chance, Danny. It's... I tear up the book, Benny. Ah... Come on. You want what, Danny? Man was shot in the back last night. Died earlier today. Michael asked you to read about it. Know him? Uh, have you seen him around? Where? With Johnny. Johnny Wesley? There's another Johnny for you and for me. Go on. Uh... Johnny kept Mr. Arson around so Mr. Arson could lay off Johnny's hedge bets. Write it down for me, Benny. Oh, it's a pleasure. Uh... Johnny's the hedge better. Say, a New York boy is fighting another boy from Pittsburgh in the garden. Say, the odds are even money. You with me? Go on. So the odds are even money. So here, Johnny lays maybe five grand on the Pittsburgh boy. So he puts in a call to Pittsburgh. Lines out yards on their hometown favorite boy is six to four. So he sends Mr. Arson down to Pittsburgh where Mr. Arson lays four grand Johnny's money on the New York boy. I see. Lovely, isn't it? Isn't it beautiful? That way, if the Pittsburgh boy wins, Johnny wins five grand here. Loses four grand in Pittsburgh. If the New York boy wins, Johnny wins six grand there. Loses five here. Either way, he's a thousand ahead. But ahead, I mean, sure. Johnny wisely. Yeah. Sure thing, winner. Thanks, Penny. I don't want you to lose your place in the forum, Mr. Prescott. So just, uh... That's right. I'll go in and tell Johnny I'm here. What's the matter, Danny? You forget the password for the free sprinkler? Whisper to you again. Small. Just some more about Michael Austin. And I spilled my heart. Are you about Michael? Part where he ran your hedge bets for you, Johnny. Oh, they've been whispering lies to you, Danny. Oh. Yeah, yeah. Michael was a rich man. He didn't have to run for anybody. His pockets were full of mad money. You put it there, Johnny, so he could lay off your bets? After the whisper, then they screamed the lie to you. Had any... You're kind of betting, Johnny. A hedge bet could run into thousands, which had to be laid on the line any place, any time, right out of pocket. That is the secret truth of my profession. You got an eagle ear, Danny. You kill him? You kill him because he... Mrs. Austin. Now, I read in the papers that she told you how Austin was killed. So what's the matter, Danny? You don't take a widow's, will you? Should I, Johnny? Mrs. Austin. I called her apartment to ask where do I send the flowers, and there was no answer. You holding her, Danny? Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Mrs. Austin. That poor Mrs. Austin. Uh-oh. A widow. To spend her grief in jail. You know what, Danny? Tell me. I got the price of a lawyer. Well, the price I got in mind to pay this lawyer, he'll get her out of there. Make you believe. I bet she'll like that better than the flowers, Danny. Make a bet? No. Ah, you're smart. Bye, Danny. Danny Clover, Muggerman. How's Mrs. Austin? She's okay. Johnny Wesley been in to see her? No. A lawyer? Yeah, Danny. With her red about five minutes ago. She going home? That's right. Just see that she gets out of there, huh? Escort her home if you have to. Okay. I'll be parked around the corner from her apartment on East 49th. Meet me there. What are you waiting for, Danny? Get in. Who are we waiting for? Relax. Oh, just in case I spot him on nudges so I can do all the policeman-like things. Like what? Oh, like bop you with my elbow and say, well, look who's coming down the street. If it isn't old... Johnny Wesley, that's who we're waiting for, huh? Let's give him a little time. Yeah. About five minutes. Yeah. Hey, that's my quibble, huh? Yeah. Sylvia and I were just talking. She just goes right off. You didn't slug her, did you? Oh, tell him how gentle I am with Goldfish. Yeah, real gentle. Well, Mrs. Austin is raising a wealth on a right jaw. Come on, Mrs. Austin. Let's get on our feet, shall we? Hey, that's a guilt. Kill you! I'll kill you! Feel better, huh? I mean him. I mean Johnny. What are you doing here, Johnny? Condolences. Yeah, I forgot to tell you, Sylvia, my condolences upon a debt to your husband. Get out of here. I want my dough. Get him out of here. You... What is he? You gambler, you... Just give me my dough. That's all I gotta have my dough. How much is it, Johnny? You'll never believe it. I don't know what he's talking about. A hundred thousand dollars. How much money? You'll know it. Pretty big fight tonight in Newark, Johnny. That one? Yeah, that one. Listen, I got a fortune, but I need that money that she's got. It's my dough. Ma'am, do you happen to have a hundred grand that belongs to this gentleman? You're crazy. That's your hedging money, Johnny? Yeah, my margin. This is the dough I got to lay down in Newark before the fight. If I don't, I'm liable to drop a mint. Search the place. Tear it down. You won't find ten dollars. Probably won't even find a nickel. That broke, aren't you? Your husband went through all his money, didn't he? Well? Well, what? Was his money? Listen, I got to have that dough. I got a cover. I'll give you a percentage. After the fight till the... What's he talking about? That your husband went broke and suddenly had a hundred thousand dollars. My dough? Johnny's dough to lay bets for Johnny. The end of it's coming when Mr. Clover tells you how you shot your husband for the money. Tear the place down. Find it. A girl like you, suddenly broke. That's a terrible life to face. Even had to hack your furniture. What a tragedy for a girl like you. Where's a hundred thousand? Tear this place apart, stick by stick. Oh, this one's too smart. That dough ain't here. That didn't take his word for it. Because you've done something with it. Then find it. You had to put it someplace. Give it to someone. Oh, not her. Oh, not her. Hide it someplace. Not much time. We got here ten minutes after Austin was shot. Goodbye, boys. No dough, no murder rap. You'll get followed wherever you go, Sylvia. You'll never get to that town. How about that elevator, boy, my man? I thought he was very proficient. Danny, up, down. Smooth stops. Get him. What for? He mailed a letter for Mrs. Austin. Hey, that's right, an air mail letter. Think you'd remember to wear? Air mail. Shall I get the boy, Sylvia? I'll get the boy. Uh, wait. Send it to Memphis. General delivery. Killed your husband, didn't you? Slab was broke. Walking around with a hundred grand and he's broke. Definition of a slab. And a girl like you. Yeah, a girl like me, broke's no good. Can't use it, fellas. It's real nothing. I'd rather be dead. Did I make it? In the minutes before dawn, Broadway lies huddled in a dreamless sleep. And the silent street is part of it. The long night, the time of no stars and the muted wind. Then from far away, listen, the whispers gather and take away the night. It's Broadway. The gaudiest. The most violent. The lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My Beat. Broadway is My Beat stars Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover with Charles Calvert as Tartaglia and Jack Krushen as Muggevin. The program is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with musical score composed and conducted by Alexander Courage. In tonight's story, Charlotte Lawrence was heard as Sylvia, Sheldon Leonard as Johnny, Leo Clary as Benny and Vito Scotty as Mr. Scarfia. Bill Anders speaking. 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